A return to the good old days: Stefano adds that he wanted to return to the west side neighborhood, where his Second Avenue pizza shop ran for years. He’s taken a step back from the restaurant business in the last few years, but was happy to dive headfirst into the new project.

“(We’re) bringing pizza and ice cream back to 'the parlor' not 'shop,' which sounds like a factory just pumping out product,” Domenic says.

Flavor: The restaurant will feature stone-oven pizza — instead of just stone on the bottom of the oven, the stone-oven will surround the pizza with radiant heat for an even cooking, start to finish, Domenic says. Pizzas will feature the same dough, sauce and a similar pricing structure to Stefano’s Restaurant on Linden Street (run by Domenic’s brother Tony.) Prices will run $3-$16.

The menu will feature sandwiches, salads, wings and traditional pasta platters. Domenic also says the Sicilian rosticceria will be a menu highlight (a style that refers to baked or toasted breads incorporated into single serving finger foods.) Expect calzones, brioche buns filled with meat or spinach and ricotta and crostini. “I had to bring it here,” Stefano says of the trend.

Gluten-free friends: Finally, gluten-free pizza. They’ll be bringing in gluten-free pizza dough and will bake the pie in its own pan and serve it with its own slicer.

Family affair: Domenic jokes they commandeer a pirate ship crew. Stefano’s got the tenure in the restaurant business, his wife handles the books, Domenic’s brother Tony runs Stefano’s Restaurant in Bethlehem and does the computer programming for the restaurants and Domenic (who went to school for architecture) tackles the restaurant design.

Future plans: There's 800 square feet of space connected to the 60-seat restaurant that could become a private dining room or office space, depending on how things go. They’re also hoping to add 24 patio seats outside the restaurant in the Spring.

Extras: gluten free, vegetarian, outdoor dining, catering, take out

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STEEPED IN RESTAURANTS

Last year, Stefano Lombardo says Stefano’s Restaurant in Bethlehem became the longest single-owner operated restaurant in the city. It’s been at 2970 Linden St. in the city nearly 30 years.

It’s restaurant No. 14 for Stefano Lombardo. Will he do others? Stefano smiles and shakes his head no, but I’m not quite sure I believe him. He loves it too much. Domenic says he and his brother are young enough to tackle other restaurants. “It started with him with dedication and passion. Then he raised his kids the same way,” Domenic says.

When he moved back into the area, Domenic came armed with nine completed business plans ready to go — the Mint was only one of them.

Oct. 9 marked 40 years in the restaurant business for Stefano. He started when he was barely 17 years old.

Domenic may beat his father in restaurant tenure. Domenic just turned 35, but has already logged 24 years cooking in the kitchen. He got to work at age 11 cooking at his Dad’s restaurants.

Notice Domenic’s playful riff on the wood and stone hallmarked in old-fashioned ice cream shops and pizza parlors. The memory of wood-burning pizza ovens or classic wooden ice cream barrels is reflected in the wooden walls, and stone accents harken back to stone pizza hearths. Notice the indented accent wall that looks like a modern take on pepperoni pizza or ice cream scoop impressions. Edison lightbulbs cast a warm glow, and an old-time feel.